GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

love Whedon, hate hollywood

POSTED BY: XEROGRAVITY
UPDATED: Thursday, October 6, 2005 19:19
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Thursday, October 6, 2005 11:46 AM

XEROGRAVITY


I'm sick and tired of all this bellyaching and whining about the box office tally. Even if Serenity is the doomed final installment, it's better than nothing. Personally I'm inclined to believe otherwise. We got a show that never should have been cancelled resurrected into a damned fine movie. It's the first and last interesting thing I've seen in years come out of that festering borg horde in hollywood. Betcha we could get the show back on the air ~ as long as it's on Scifi channel where it belongs. I have no doubt it's doable. We should take stock of our situation and be thankful.

rant /on

Joss Whedon is gutsy. hollywood is gutless (I refuse to capitalize in protest). He lives in the borderworlds of hollywood, daring to tell stories that just don't jive with mainstream formula. Living on the rim is a one-way trip to nowhere in the world of the high and mighty. Buncha misfits tellin stories other misfits love. No big budgets, no big name actors/actresses. Just raw talent. Even the "good guys" are bad. Least that's how I see it when it comes to Firefly and Serenity. Could care less for his previous work on Buffy and Angel... just not my cup of tea. To be blunt about it, the whole supernatural witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and undead creepy critters thing has been exhausted. It's been done, overdone, and is way overdue for a break. A desperately needed break. Only thing left to do is recycle more of the same, repackage it over and over, etc. Throw in bunches of beautiful bad actors, cheesy dialogue, and wrap it up in the "good versus bad always win" scenarios that only a soccer-mom could love and you have a crowdpleaser. Sadly, even when it's outlived it's usefulness, the "same ole same ole" still sells. It all stinks if you ask me. If it smells it sells. The "companions" in hollywood never know when to quit, and they overmilk their cash cows till the udders explode. To me, Whedon's early productions were his coin of passage across the river Styx... just him paying his dues. Had to produce some garbage that would sell so he could produce his magnum opus, his one true piece of art ~ Firefly. Like all true art before it, 'twas doomed to fail. It arrived before it's time, was soundly thwarted by the powers that be, and those wretched few misfits (that would be we browncoats) who love something original have to go back to our holes and pray for a day when the next Star Wars can emerge. I think hollywood has a "kill on sight" policy if something smells like another scifi epic of that caliber. Can't have another George Lucas on our hands running around doin his own thing. Nope nope nope. Conformity is a must. Please... give me more Hercules in space with his fakeyass fight scenes. Give me more time travelling Star Trek~ Save The Whales in Space. Give me more milquetoast MacGyver swimming thru wormholes saving the universe. More more more. Soccer moms everywhere will rejoice.

Surprisingly we (the rabid fan base) managed to pull a Picasso out of the garbage and turn it into a 2 hour 10 minute film. Or Joss did. Didn't even have to cut off an ear. Our hero, Joss Whedon, is at the helm. Let's duplicate that feat and get the show back on the air. I want my Firefly. I don't give a damn if the movie flops at the box office. Kind of like trying to serve caviar at a tuna fish buffet.

rant /off

XG


No such thing as gravity. The "Earth-that-was" just sucks.

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 12:05 PM

TETHYS


I am in tears right now.....

*sniffle*

Seriously though...HELL YEA!

"I aim to misbehave"
I am: http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/bigcat.htm

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:01 PM

AX


Gosh, I'm REALLY getting tired of everyone trying to argue that Buffy and Angel were bad shows. Fine--not your cup of tea or whatever. I can deal with that, but then you've got to go and compare it "garbage".

Your argument is that the horror genre is 'done', and that all those shows are was pretty people with cheesy lines. I'm here to say this is just silly. First of all genres aren't ever 'done'. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Firefly, quite honestly, is proof of that. I hear people saying that Westerns are dead, or sci-fi is dead all the time. So long as people have different perspectives from one another it doesn't matter how many times the same story is told--because it's the author's perspective that makes something original.

You remember that amazing scene at the end of "The Train Job" where Mal kicks the baddie into the engine right in the middle of his rant? Remember how awsome it was to see Joss turn the whole action convention right on it's head? Well, Joss did the same thing on Buffy and Angel.

Maybe those shows didn't click with you, but they used the same conventions

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 6:42 PM

ENGINEANGEL


GO AX!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU TELL THEM!!!!!!!!

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 7:09 PM

TETHYS


Quote:

Originally posted by Ax:
Gosh, I'm REALLY getting tired of everyone trying to argue that Buffy and Angel were bad shows. Fine--not your cup of tea or whatever. I can deal with that, but then you've got to go and compare it "garbage".

Your argument is that the horror genre is 'done', and that all those shows are was pretty people with cheesy lines. I'm here to say this is just silly. First of all genres aren't ever 'done'. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Firefly, quite honestly, is proof of that. I hear people saying that Westerns are dead, or sci-fi is dead all the time. So long as people have different perspectives from one another it doesn't matter how many times the same story is told--because it's the author's perspective that makes something original.

You remember that amazing scene at the end of "The Train Job" where Mal kicks the baddie into the engine right in the middle of his rant? Remember how awsome it was to see Joss turn the whole action convention right on it's head? Well, Joss did the same thing on Buffy and Angel.

Maybe those shows didn't click with you, but they used the same conventions




Personally, I took it the OTHER way. Which is to say: "EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE.", according to HOW it's done. Most of us here, excluding myself (SURPRISE!), are big time Buffy and Angel fans. Granted, I have seen a few eps of both, but never really got into it all that much. But I digress.

Space shows have been "done", so have westerns, horror, anthologies, hero epics, etc etc. It all depends on the HOW, which is the most important. We should ALL agree that FF (and by extension, the BDM) is the most original, heart warming, and at times thought provoking project undertaken if the sci-fi realm. Sorry, the idea of people not fighting each other (Star-Trek anyone?) to be a little BS. Now, I absolutely LOVE Star Trek, and yes I agree that there may come a day when things such as poverty and greed may be taken out of the equation, BUT...People will always opress each other in some way. Because, to put it mildly, some people just don't CARE. So, with that...FF to me seems to be a more accurate portrayal of what I expect the future to be: great for some, bleak for others...just like is NOW.

Joss has given us three takes on "done" genres that have defied expectations and preconceptions about them. Sci-fi is "done", westerns are "done", and yes, horror is "done". ONLY in the sense of what has been done before. Certain shows such as FF and Brimstone are generally squashed as soon as originality is shown.

I read that the point is: "Done", Hollywood type shows SUCK, Joss Whedon shows KICK ASS. To put it bluntly. And personally, I couldn't agree more......

"I aim to misbehave"
I am: http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/bigcat.htm

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 7:19 PM

TETHYS


On second though...I do see the reference to "Garbage". I, personally, am of different thoughts on that.

1) Possible he wasn't referring to Buffy and Angel?

2) Remember, we are BROWNCOATS, not the Slayer Society. There are many of us that are just as dedicated to FF that could care less about watching a Buffy ep. Sorry, but it's the truth. Though I DO like Buffy and Angel, it's just not so much my cup of tea.

3) Read the WHOLE message and see the point, not just something thrown in for effect IMHO. To me, it sums up the whole "Screw this easily amused, cardboard cut-out shows, and gimme something fresh and original dammit" attitude which is the reason I don't watch much TV anymore. And don't try to sell me on LOST..getting tired of hearing about that show

4) No, I did NOT write the first post...LOL

"I aim to misbehave"
I am: http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/bigcat.htm

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 7:19 PM

EMBERS


there was a really wonderful article in the LA Times today:
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/cl-ca-homefront9oct09,0,
2056150.htmlstory?coll=la-tot-promo

it goes into detail about how expensive movies are,
and a lot of the expense is because of all the CGI,
which personally I think usually looks lame...
in 'Serenity' we had a lot of action that was filmed the old fashioned way, with cameras...
with stunt men, with actors actually interacting...
it was VERY exciting...
not at all like a video game.

I think you're right XeroGravity,
we need to worry less about the box office receipts
fact is this film has gotten great reviews,
it'll do well world wide,
and the DVD sales will be great,
so I'm betting that eventually we'll get our sequel,
but whether we do or not, at least we've got our BDM!

(and I'll be going to it again this weekend!)

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